Ten years later, Elton's coming back to Louisville

Elton John is bringing his “Greatest Hits Live” concert tour to the KFC Yum! Center on April 15, ending a decadelong drought in Louisville.John last performed here in 2001, selling out Freedom Hall as part of his “Face to Face” tour with Billy Joel, and his last appearance as sole headliner was in 1997. He did perform in 2003 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
“I can't believe he is coming here, especially on such short notice, but I'm glad he is,” said fan Carlisle Baker of Louisville. “He was one of my first concerts, that being his ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' tour. I think this will be as big as (Lady) Gaga, just a different crowd.”
John will return in style, with an acclaimed new album recorded with Leon Russell, “The Union,” and a setlist heavy on charting singles and fan favorites.
At a recent show at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., John's set consisted of “Funeral For a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding),” “Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting),” “Levon,” “Madman Across the Water,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues” and “Rocket Man.”
After a selection of songs from “The Union,” he returned with a second salvo of hits, including “Bennie and the Jets,” “The Bitch is Back,” “Burn Down the Mission,” “Candle in the Wind” and “Your Song.”
John's band includes Davey Johnstone on guitar and Nigel Olsson on drums, who have performed with him since the 1970s. They've helped him rack up 35 gold and 25 platinum albums, 29 consecutive Top 40 hits and more than 250 million records sold worldwide.
Tickets will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m., starting at the bargain price-point of $19.50 before jumping to $79 and $139.
Tickets will be available at the KFC Yum! Center ticket office, www.livenation.com and Ticketmaster outlets, including www.ticketmaster.com and charge-by-phone, (800) 745-3000.
Reporter Jeffrey Lee Puckett can be reached at (502) 582-4160.

Sir Elton John joined prominent out athletes in supporting the Sheffield Eagles in England for their wearing of jerseys condemning homophobia in rugby. The Eagles wore the jerseys, which said “Homophobia: Tackle It,” Sunday in a 44-16 loss to the Widnes Vikings.

“I am delighted to hear about Sheffield Eagles’ initiative” said Sir Elton. “I feel that an enormous step forward is being undertaken when Rugby League recognizes the diversity of human sexuality. I applaud all those involved in this initiative. Best wishes and love.”

Sir Elton joined rugby players Gareth Thomas and Ian Roberts, basketball’s John Amaechi and cricket player Steven Davies in supporting the Eagles.

Concert: Elton John in Uncasville, CT

As Elton John launched into what was billed as a "Greatest Hits Live" concert Friday night (3/11) at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, it was anyone's guess why he was keeping a second grand piano tucked away behind the drum kit. But about 50 minutes into the show, Elton let the cat out of the bag, and that cat received an enthusiastic standing ovation.
Just two days before his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Elton welcomed Leon Russell to the stage to celebrate not only the musician's place in American music history, but also his first body of new work since the Oklahoma native underwent risky brain surgery last year.
That new raft of tunes dubbed "The Union," co-billed and co-written with Elton John, marked a return of sorts for the white-haired cowboy whose unmistakable vocals and honky-tonk style of piano have graced recordings from Frank Sinatra to many of the '60s and '70s biggest stars as a session player for Phil Spector's session band -- even supporting a much younger Elton John back in 1970 as Elton was just getting his career started.

Russell shuffled on stage in a bright white suit and tall white Stetson, which complimented his long white shock of hair and Santa Claus beard. As the pair settled in for a seven-song mini set showcasing material from "The Union," it was interesting to hear segments of each song that contained familiar shades of Elton John at one moment, while others were clearly influenced by Russell.
Kicking off the duo set with "If It Wasn't For Bad," the two musical masters flowed right into the dueling vocals and hammering rhythms like they had been playing live together for some time, instead of coming together for the "Union" sessions and only a few other concert and TV appearances to promote their new project.
"Monkey Suit" had a similar rabble-rousing feel, and Elton seemed to dig the opportunity to match Russell's gravely vocals with some bluesy vocal intonations.
The intermingled ballads, however, provided both artists opportunities to shine independently and together. "The Best Part of the Day," "When Love is Dying," "Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody)" and "A Dream Come True" each reinforced the special quality that the pair brought to the table as collaborators and performers.
The balance of Elton's set also showcased another musical dynasty with the introduction of Sly & The Family Stone matriarch Rose Stone on backing vocals, and her daughter Lisa, who handled the high harmonies on many of the show's two dozen remaining numbers with ease.
Longtime guitarist Davey Johnstone and drummer Nigel Olsson were also a pleasure to watch. While the rest of the backing players each exhibited extreme talent, the two Elton John Band veterans appeared as attentive to the finer musical and rhythmic details today as they were four decades earlier supporting tours for "Don't Shoot Me (I'm Only The Piano Player)" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."
Elton was also in great form for this show, belting out the lyrics and pounding the keys from show opener "Funeral For a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding" to "Your Song," which closed the show nearly three hours later.
Other highpoints from the Mohegan Sun appearance included a double dose from "Madman Across the Water," with a well received "Levon" followed up by the first of several extended jams as the band performed the funky title track to the 1971 effort.
Similarly, "Tiny Dancer" and "Take Me to the Pilot" garnered extremely positive audience reactions, probably since everyone was expecting songs like "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Crocodile Rock" "Rocket Man," and "Candle in the Wind" to be part of the evening's "Greatest Hits" showcase.
On his own, Elton still proved his affinity for the songs he conceived, even though he must have performed some of them thousands of times. And in no way did his presentation of any of those numbers display a lack of attention or energy.
Certainly, Elton was forced to scrap a few other hits from his set in order to spotlight the work he shared with Leon Russell, but for the few numbers conspicuously missing from the show, it was well worth it to witness the pairing of two musical superstars performing so symbiotically -- despite the fact that one hails from the dusty plains of Oklahoma while the other grew up in a modest suburban village a stone's throw outside of London.

Fairness Questioned in Quick Elton John Sell-Out

http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=14258420
LA CROSSE, Wis. - The quick sell out of Elton John concert tickets in La Crosse has many questioning if sales were fair.
Tickets went on sale Monday morning and sold out in one hour and 25 minutes.
The La Crosse Center says it only sold tickets through Ticketmaster, none were given to brokers or secondary markets.
Web sites like StubHub claim to have around 300 tickets still available for purchase.
Director of the La Crosse Center, Art Fahey, says these sites didn't have any special access and are treated like any other customer.
"If they had them online and they were showing that they were selling them before hand, they didn't have the inventory, it's all speculative. And if after the tickets went on sale they had their own staffing go online and grab tickets the way they could in their own market that they come from," said Fahey.
Joellen Ferrer, spokesperson for StubHub, says they didn't buy any tickets.
She says they are an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers that range from everyday ticket holders to professional ticket brokers.
"Anybody can list their ticket on StubHub, so whether they're individuals or whether they are brokers, but it's not in our nature to buy tickets and sell them on the site. So, we don't own any inventory whatsoever," said Ferrer.
StubHub says it does guarantee tickets on both the buyer and seller side of any transaction
Director of the La Crosse Center says there is an outside chance that some day-of-show tickets could be available in the future.

Elton John fans find problems in ticket sales

Ginny and Orlin Clark and Barb and Dick Konrad reached the La Crosse Center at 7 a.m. Monday to find they were the only ones in line for Elton John tickets.
Instead of waiting in the chill, “we went to Fayze’s,” Barb said, yet still were at the head of the line when they returned an hour later.
But thanks to the random number distribution lottery, they weren’t first to buy when the box office opened at 11 a.m. That honor went to Eunice Hepful of La Crosse, who was stunned at her good fortune and bought tickets for a handicapped student and his mother as well.
The Clarks and Konrads did OK, with Orlin getting fourth place in line. Yet they had a scare when, at the window, the four tickets they were purchasing for $79 disappeared — “He went to swipe our card and they were already gone,” Ginny Clark said.
They walked away with two $79 tickets and two $129 tickets.

“We feel lucky that we’re in the auditorium and we’re able to hear him. I think this is pretty special that he’s coming to a small community like this.”
John Bartz of Winona, Minn., got the second position in line.
“Thank you, little girl,” he shouted to the child who drew the ticket to determine the order.
“I was born in ’67 and my older brother turned me on to him,” Bartz said.
But his joy didn’t last: He wanted a $29 ticket “to say I saw him” but found only $129 ones available.
So Bartz walked away, unwilling to pay that price. “I just find that unbelievable. ... How could they already do that? I’m really not happy,” he said.
The lottery didn’t guarantee a ticket, just a place in line, La Crosse Center Director Art Fahey said.
Heather Desrocher of La Crosse said she’s seen Elton John six times. April will make that seven — though at the end of the line of about 50 people, she still got tickets.
“Patience is a virtue,” she said.
“A lot of people, they left when they heard that all the $29 and $79 tickets were gone. ... But then the computer released them,” she said.
Online could be tricky as well.
“We just kept getting ‘no tickets available’,” said Vicki Born of La Crosse, who tried to buy online at 11 a.m. with pal Jenny Aberger. “They’re all showing up on Craigslist and Stubhub at double the price.”
Still, she won’t give up.
“If Elton would like to come and stay at either one of our houses, he’s welcome. He gets to stay here, and I get six tickets.”

Sir Elton John treated Britain's first openly gay cricket star to a bottle of champagne in celebration of his 'coming out'.
Steven Davies braved a possible backlash from cricket fans when he revealed his true sexuality last month (Feb11), making him the sport's first openly gay player.
Davies has received support from his fellow players and the British public, and his joy of being accepted was topped up by the Rocket Man's kind gesture.
In a post on his Twitter.com page, Davies writes, "Sir Elton John has just sent me champagne! Wow!"

Elton-heads, look alive: Limited tickets to Wednesday night's Madison Square Garden show have just been made available. Straight from our inbox this morning to you:

Due to production releases, a limited amount of tickets have just been made available and are on sale now for Elton John and his band at Madison Square Garden, on Wednesday, March 16th at 8PM. Elton John and his band will be performing their “Greatest Hits Live” concert, featuring number one chart hits and classic album tracks from throughout Elton’s incredible five-decade career. Elton John’s band includes Davey Johnstone on guitar, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion, Nigel Olsson on drums, and Kim Bullard on keyboards.

Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, thegarden.com, livenation.com and charge-by-phone (866-858-0008).

If you can’t swing the nearly $100 starter price for a ticket, don’t forget that Elton’s going to be rocking a free show to kick off the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20. His performance will follow the free-to-all outdoor premiere of Cameron Crowe’s new documentary film The Union (about the collaboration between John and Leon Russell) at the North Cove at the World Financial Plaza.